Inhibitor of Apoptosis (IAP) Proteins

Historical Background

Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins were identified in 1993 in a cDNA-based screen for baculovirus genes that prevent the induction of apoptosis in
Spodoptera frugiperda SF-21 insect cells after viral infection (Crook et al.
1993).
iap genes were found in other baculoviruses, and further analysis of these IAP proteins led to the identification of their functional domains, namely, two baculovirus IAP repeat (BIR) domains and a C-terminal C3HC4-type Zn-finger, which is now known to be a
really
interesting
new
gene (RING) domain (Vaux and Silke
2005) (Fig.
1).